


How many did we win?

by findgraves



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: (only mentioned), Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Canon Compliant, Canonical Character Death, Endgame ending is briefly mentioned, Gen, M/M, Marvel Universe, Multiverse, POV Stephen Strange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-16
Updated: 2019-05-16
Packaged: 2020-03-06 07:47:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18846709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/findgraves/pseuds/findgraves
Summary: "It isn’t always romantic, just like it isn’t always platonic, but their relationship is a common thread in all worlds, etched into the fabric of the multiverse, inevitable like the circle of life and death. They don’t seem to exist, or better, resist without the other. Strange knows magic and knows science; he’s never seen anything like this. Stark and Rogers seem meant to integrate one another. Alone they are strong, but together – oh, together they overthrow tyrants and gods."While searching for ways to defeat Thanos, Stephen Strange realizes that Iron Man and Captain America are ineluctable.





	How many did we win?

**Author's Note:**

> Earth-3490 mention. That's all you need to know.  
> Please, if you liked this and have Tumblr, reblog my original post (you can find it here: https://marvel-slash-geek.tumblr.com/post/184902888200/it-doesnt-happen-everywhere-on-a-desolate).

It doesn’t happen everywhere. On a desolate planet, full of dust and not much else, with Thanos looming over the universe as certain as death, Dr Strange takes a glimpse into all possible futures, looking for a way to win the war. It’s like searching for a needle in the haystack. He skims fourteen million six hundred and five alternative timelines, travels through battles and losses, gets smacked in the face with the immensity of their failure. The Avengers lose in every single one of them – or almost, because in one they do get to win. The cost is huge, but Thanos is defeated and the universe gets back on track.

It takes Strange 11 months to get to this ending; in the material world, it’s not even 30 seconds. So, he spends another month taking a glimpse at universes where Thanos never got that far in his plan, out of trivial curiosity and to make things rounder, and he soon catches a pattern. A relationship stands out, as important to cosmic balance as the Infinity Stones.

Tony and Steve.

Now, Strange doesn’t personally know Steve Rogers yet, but what he sees doesn’t surprise him. After all, he noticed the way Stark flinched at every mention of Rogers’ name, how it made him restless and afraid – of hurting, not of the other man himself. Strange observes and soon learns that Thanos may not be ineluctable, but Iron Man and Captain America are. He also learns that what these universes have in common is that The Avengers didn’t break up. More specifically, Steve and Tony didn’t fall out. Instead, they took their differences and made them their strength, until they became one. One team, one family, one home. Sometimes, one beating heart.

On Earth-3490, they get married. Strange curiously watches as Natasha Stark runs her hand through Steve’s hair, a sweet gesture to reassure him, eyes wet with tears. They are hurting, but their grief doesn’t divide them; it fortifies them. She is carrying their first child, a girl, and Steve can’t stop touching his wife’s belly. They are each other’s family and anchor. Many alternative dimensions look like this one.

It isn’t always romantic, just like it isn’t always platonic, but their relationship is a common thread in all worlds, etched into the fabric of the multiverse, inevitable like the circle of life and death. They don’t seem to exist, or better, resist without the other. Strange knows magic and knows science; he’s never seen anything like this. Stark and Rogers seem meant to integrate one another. Alone they are strong, but together – oh, together they overthrow tyrants and gods.

When Strange returns to his reality, he can’t bring himself to look at Tony. All he’s going to sacrifice, all he’s already sacrificed… It’s too much. No man should bear the fate of the entire universe. Stark stares at him, as eager to know as only true heroes are. “How many did we win?” he asks when Strange shares the number of futures he analyzed. He remembers Tony, close to exhaling his last breath, surrounded by his loved ones. He remembers Steve, keeping his distance, crying because he couldn’t maintain his promise, the only promise that ever truly mattered. _Together_.

Finally, Strange looks at Tony, with newfound regard and empathy. He tells him a lie.

“…One.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm working on a longer Canon-Divergent Steve/Tony fic that happens right after Thanos' snap. Let me know if you are interested (and stay tuned).


End file.
